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June 08, 2025
 

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COMMENTARY / Japan / SENTAKU MAGAZINE
Aug 25, 2014
Japan awaits North Korean report on fate of abductees
It may soon become clear whether the Japanese government's decision to bet on the power and ability of North Korea's State Security Department to resolve the fate of past Japanese abductees was justified.
Reader Mail
Aug 20, 2014
Recognition as special victims
Regarding the July 31 AP article "Last surviving crew member of Enola Gay dead at 93": On Aug. 13, a Japanese scholar provided his take on the outcome of World War II in The New York Times. It was triggered by the attention given to the death of the last survivor of the Enola Gay atomic bomb crew.
Reader Mail
Aug 20, 2014
Japan paid its Pacific War debt
I read recently in my hometown newspaper that Korean and Chinese officials were upset over Japanese officials visiting the shrine to Japan's war dead.
Reader Mail
Aug 20, 2014
Help the 'Well Said' translations
I appreciate the Japanese-language learning columns included in The Japan Times, and read them almost every week. However, I feel that two aspects of the "Well Said" column need improvement.
Reader Mail
Aug 13, 2014
Surrender option unacceptable
In response to Aaron Tovish's Aug. 10 letter, "Children's deaths were senseless," I respect the Peace Boat organization, but Tovish's letter contains some indefensible and incredible historical revisionism about Japan's surrender in World War II that reflects poorly on that organization's political agenda....
Reader Mail
Aug 13, 2014
Ignorance putting us in danger
People sometimes say, "Ignorance is bliss." It is true that innocent children who don't know the despair of modern society seem to live a happy life. Nevertheless, we should stop being fatalistic and see the truth in society because, currently, our safety is being jeopardized due to our ignorance.
Reader Mail
Aug 13, 2014
Casting actresses in ethnic roles
In no way do I mean to criticize Philip Brasor's Aug. 10 Media Mix column, "Critics get frank when it comes to Godzilla"; however, I have never quite understood the derision given to the movie "Memoirs of a Geisha" over the casting of Chinese actresses in three leading roles.
LIFE / Language / COMMUNICATION CUES
Aug 11, 2014
Curry spices lower hypertension in rats
Indian medical researchers say they have successfully tested a blend of curry spices that lower blood pressure in lab rats, raising hopes for a natural and affordable drug to treat the chronic disease.
EDITORIALS
Aug 6, 2014
Xi should push rule of law
If Chinese leader Xi Jinping is serious about enacting reforms, he should implement political and judiciary changes designed to strip the party of its privilege and firmly establish the rule of law.
Reader Mail
Aug 6, 2014
Let flexibility reign at university
The Aug. 3 editorial "More students opt for fifth year" gave me a chance to ponder the flexibility of university-level education in our society. In colleges and universities, generally speaking, there are too many required subjects for students, and students have to take so many credits to graduate....
Reader Mail
Aug 6, 2014
A call to all cooks about tuna
Because of the over-fishing of one of our most amazing and tasty fish, bluefin tuna stocks have fallen to dangerously low levels. Its natural habitats, the North Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea, are being ruthlessly and, sometimes, illegally, exploited as the fish is served up in sushi and sashimi...
Reader Mail
Aug 6, 2014
Paying for the habit of a minority
Regarding the Aug. 1 article "Japan's smoking rate falls below 20% for first time, manufacturer says": It's time to add my two-pence worth. I'm taking this headline statement with a rather large pinch of salt, for the following reasons:
Reader Mail
Aug 6, 2014
Women breaking the status quo
A salute to the women featured in the July 31 Kyodo article "Female officials challenge status quo" and the July 31 Bloomberg article "Late hours thwart Abe's working moms."
Reader Mail
Aug 6, 2014
Emotions that limit our freedom
Regarding Barry Andrew Ward's July 24 letter, "Simplistic explanation for Nazis": Once again Ward mentions immigration in the United States as a negative without elaboration.
Reader Mail
Aug 6, 2014
Bravo to Seoul's persistence
Regarding the Aug. 5 Jiji article "South Korea to issue 'comfort women' white paper in 2015": It's curious how Japan would have the world remember the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, but cries foul when other nations remind Japan that not too long ago it was a militaristic power hellbent on...
JAPAN
Aug 4, 2014
Most shared Japan Times stories from July
In case you missed them, here are the most shared stories from The Japan Times for July 2014. The top 10 most shared new stories Welfare ruling stuns foreigners The landmark decision by the Supreme Court that permanent foreign residents of Japan are not entitled to welfare benefits will discourage more...
Reader Mail
Jul 30, 2014
Get tough with selfish 'patients'
Regarding the July 24 Bloomberg Focus article, "Retirees swell national debt treating clinics as clubs": I completely agree. To go further, I personally would mark these people as selfish and inconsiderate of others.
Reader Mail
Jul 30, 2014
Contact keeping elders healthy
Regarding the closing quote from the article above, "Older people are squeezing money from the young and future generations under the current system": No elder-bashing, please!
Reader Mail
Jul 30, 2014
The name for a horrible practice
Cesar Chelala's July 29 article, "Safe alternative rites to female circumcision," was well written and interesting. I would like to comment on the headline, though.
Reader Mail
Jul 30, 2014
Nazi-Catholic link is baseless
While I mostly agree with Barry Andrew Ward's generally well-reasoned July 24 letter, "Simplistic explanation for Nazis," it's too bad it was tainted with what seems like a factually baseless attempt to link Nazism to Catholicism.
Foreign tourists with unpaid medical bills in Japan to be denied entry
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba speaks during ministerial meeting meeting on foreign residents in Japan on Friday at the Prime Minister's Office.
Japan eyes tougher rules for foreign residents and tax hike for tourists
A tax-free shop in Kyoto in April 2024. Last week, members of a Liberal Democratic Party study group drafted a proposal seeking to scrap the country's tax-free shopping system altogether.
Accidents raise concern over how Japan vets foreign drivers
Keita Ueno (right), the owner of Kiki Driving School and an instructor who supports both foreign nationals and Japanese citizens returning from abroad in getting their foreign driver’s licenses converted, is worried about the current lax system for the process.
Japan won’t wait for G7 summit for possible U.S. trade deal
Ryosei Akazawa, Japan's top negotiator in tariff talks with the U.S. speaks to reporters at the Japanese Embassy in Washington on Friday.
From ridicule to redemption: Rice crisis returns Koizumi to the spotlight
Agriculture minister Shinjiro Koizumi speaks to the media as he inspects a warehouse storing stockpiled rice in Kanagawa Prefecture on May 30.
What can Kenji Yanobe’s cosmic cats teach us about humanity?
Kenji Yanobe’s spacesuited cats are the main characters of “Ship’s Cat Island,” the inaugural exhibition at Hyper Museum Hanno in Saitama Prefecture.
From ridicule to redemption: Rice crisis returns Koizumi to the spotlight
Agriculture minister Shinjiro Koizumi speaks to the media as he inspects a warehouse storing stockpiled rice in Kanagawa Prefecture on May 30.
New Naoshima museum bets on Asia, not the West
Detail of Takashi Murakami, “Rakuchu-Rakugai-zu Byobu: Iwasa Matabei RIP” (2023-25)
Japan’s prison reform focuses on rehabilitation
Justice Minister Keisuke Suzuki speaks to reporters in Tokyo on Friday. Suzuki said preparations for the changes that will focus more on rehabilitation are being actively made at each correctional facility.
Accidents raise concern over how Japan vets foreign drivers
Keita Ueno (right), the owner of Kiki Driving School and an instructor who supports both foreign nationals and Japanese citizens returning from abroad in getting their foreign driver’s licenses converted, is worried about the current lax system for the process.

Podcast

One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward.
Kabukicho: Tokyo’s ‘stadium of desire’

Longform

After the asset-price bubble crash of the early 1990s, employment at a Japanese company was no longer necessarily for life. As a result, a new generation is less willing to endure a toxic work culture —life’s too short, after all.
How Japan's youth are slowly changing the country's work ethic
By Alex K.T. Martin

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